What's the story?

Inter defender Milan Skriniar has stated that Juventus talisman Cristiano Ronaldo and Roma star Edin Dzeko are two of the toughest opponents he has encountered in the Serie A this season. He also admitted that Dzeko is the player that caused him the 'most trouble'.

In case you didn't know...

Since his move to Inter in 2017, Skriniar has established himself as one of the best centre-halves in the game, overcoming his initial difficulties in Italy and adapting to the kind of football played in the Serie A.

The Slovakia international has encountered his fair share of prolific forwards this season, with new Serie A arrival Ronaldo on that list.

Ronaldo sits third on the Serie A goal-scoring charts, with 21 goals to his name and is only behind Atalanta's Duván Zapata and Sampdoria's Fabio Quagliarella. Meanwhile, Dzeko has nine goals and six assists for Roma this season.

The heart of the matter

Speaking to Goal and DAZN, Skriniar explained why he picked Ronaldo and Dzeko as the toughest opponents he has faced this season: "Ronaldo, for example, was very fast and would fight for every ball. So it’s tough to single one out as the strongest."

"This season, though, maybe Dzeko was the toughest to mark because he’s strong physically and he was the one that caused us the most trouble."

"Especially in the first half during that second game [a 1-1 draw on April 20]. Then in the second half, we managed to close him down."

"Every now and then I also watch videos of the opposition strikers so I can see where they like to go, see what their strengths and weaknesses are."